THIRUVANTHAPURAM/THRISSUR: Kadavanthra Station House Officer P M Ratheesh has been suspended following allegations of custodial assault at the Peechi police station. The suspension order was issued by the South Zone IG Shyam Sundar. Ratheesh, who currently serves as the SHO at Kadavanthra station in Ernakulam, had previously held the position of SI at Peechi. The order issued by the IG noted that the decision was taken as it is inappropriate for the accused officer to continue in service.
During the period of suspension, he shall be entitled to subsistence allowance as per the provisions of the law, the order noted. The issue was raised in the legislative assembly during an adjournment motion on Tuesday.
The incident in question happened on May 24, 2023, when Ratheesh assaulted hotel owner K P Ouseph, his son, and their driver at the Peechi station.
The assault reportedly followed a complaint filed by two individuals, Dinesh and Jinish, regarding a dispute over the quality of food served at Ouseph’s hotel. Ouseph and his driver had arrived at the station to file a counter-complaint when the alleged assault took place. Ouseph later accused the police of demanding a large sum of money to settle the case informally.
Despite multiple complaints against Ratheesh in connection with the incident, no disciplinary action was taken initially. Ouseph is the first person to obtain the CCTV footage on custodial torture from a police station in Kerala. When he applied for the CCTV visuals, it was first denied citing Maoist threat to the police station.
Police argued that providing the footage would compromise the safety of the station. Eventually, an appeal was filed with the State Information Commission, and preparations were made to approach the High Court. Only then did officials agree to release the footage.
Soon after the incident, Ollur ACP had filed a 15-page report, accusing the officer of assaulting the hotel manager and staff. “The report of Ollur ACP was forwarded to all superior officers.
Yet even two years after the incident no action was taken. Now, in order to pacify the protesters, the authorities suspended him from service. He will be getting a part of his salary, and after a few months, the higher officers will reinstate him in service. This is not fair,” Ouseph told TNIE.